A new potent natural antioxidant mixture provides global protection against oxidative skin cell damage

Oxidative stress occurs when there is an over production of free radicals and cells are not able to neutralize them by their own antioxidant mechanisms. These excess of free radicals will attack cellular macromolecules leading to cell damage, function impairment or death. Because of that, antioxidant substances have been largely used in products to offer complementary protection. In this study a new mixture of three known antioxidants (cocoa, green tea and alpha-tocopherol) was evaluated and its antioxidant protection was assessed focusing on its capacity to protect main cell macromolecules. Results have shown that it has a high antioxidant capacity by protecting lipids, DNA and proteins against oxidative damage. The antioxidant effect of the mixture on cells was also investigated and it was able to reduce oxidative stress generated by lipopolisacharide in human fibroblasts. Finally, as the mixture has proved to be highly antioxidant, its effect on cell senescence was evaluated, and it was demonstrated that fibroblasts in culture had delayed senescence when treated with these actives on a mixture. All results together provide important data about a new antioxidant mixture that uses a small amount of actives and is able to protect cell against oxidative damages in a global way.